Container and closure therefor



Oct. 7, 1969 E- T. Junczzm 3,470,930

CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Jan. 12, 1968 INVENTOR. Edward T.Jurczenio' A TTORNEYS United States Patent 3,470,930 CONTAINER ANDCLOSURE THEREFOR Edward T. Jurczenia, San Carlos, Calif., assignor toUnited States Tobacco Company, New York, N.Y. Filed Jan. 12, 1968, Ser.No. 697,334 Int. Cl. B65d 25/00, 41/16 US. Cl. 150-5 7 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE SPECIFICATION This invention relates to closures, andmore in particular to snap-fit closures which are used to sealcontainers such as those in which food and other products are sold toconsumers.

, An object of this invention is to provide a closure that can easily beremoved from and replaced upon the container by hand. p

A further object is to provide a closure that will continue to produce aleak-proof, airtight seal after the closure has been removed andreplaced several times.

' A still further object is to provide a closure that is notaccidentally removed from the container, if, for example, a person liftsthe container by grasping the sides of the closure.

These and other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outbelow.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a container closed with a lid made inaccordance with the present invention; and

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 ofFIGURE 1.

A container 1 of molded flexible polyethylene is cylindrical in form,with a side wall 3. Covering the open top of container 1 is a lid orclosure 5, comprising a circular or disc portion 7 and a vertical flange9', extending down from the periphery of disc portion 7 along the sidewall 3 of the container. The entire closure is a unitary piece of moldedflexible polyethylene.

Located on the inner surface of flange 9 and extending around its entirecircumference are two parallel ridges 6 and 8, which rest against andhug the outside surface of container wall 3. Between ridges 6 and 8, acircumferential channel 4 is formed with a surface 11, which is at anangle of approximately 30 degrees to the vertical; a surface 13 which issubstantially vertical; and a surface 15, which is at an angle ofapproximately 45 degrees to the vertical. A second channel 10, is formedabove ridge 6 by a sloping surface 17, a vertical surface 18, and thelower surface 14 of the top of the closure.

The horizontal lip surface or upper edge 12 of container wall 3 abutsagainst surface 14. Protruding from surface 14 immediately adjacent theinner side of edge 18 is an annular ridge 16, which cooperates with theother structure to form a seal with side wall 3 to prevent leakage fromthe container. Sealing ridge 16 has a horizontal annular surface 19 andadjacent sloping side surfaces 21.

An integral circumferential bead 22 protrudes from the outer surface ofcontainer wall 3 and fits in channel 4. As will be explained more fullybelow, bead 22 acts ICC as a reinforcing rib tending to maintain the topof the container in its true cylindrical shape. The entire structureincluding that feature and the shape of channel 4, which has beendescribed above, causes the closure flange to grip bead 22 very firmly,so that the chance of an accidental removal of the closure from thecontainer is very slight. The strength with which closure 5 is held uponthe container is further increased by channel 10, because if flange 9were in contact with container wall 3 above ridge 6, it would preventthe surfaces of channel 4 from moving inwardly against bead 22.

To facilitate the removal of the closure from the container, the innersurface 24 of flange 9 slopes away from container wall 3 below ridge 8.The space or slot 27 between the lower edge of flange 9 and containerwall 3 permits the flange to be grasped and pulled outwardly at anypoint on its circumference. At the same time, the flange is pushedupwardly, so that ridge 8 slides over the outside of bead 22, therebyfreeing the closure from the container.

Located a short distance below the lower edge of the closure flange 9and protruding from the outer surface of container wall 3 is a largecircumferential rib 25, which, together with head 22, gives thecontainer sufficient rigidity so that its open end retains a circularshape. This rigidity of shape is necessary in order to maintain the firmgrip of the surface of channel 4 on bead 22 through the circumference ofthe container. A further important function of rib 25 is to reduce thepossibility that a person lifting the container by its closure mightinadvertently pry flange 9 away from the container wall and remove theclosure. The space or slot 28 between the lower edge 26 of flange 9 andrib 25 is small enough that it is unlikely that a person would slip hisfinger tips between them unintentionally. By eliminating the danger thatthe closure will be accidentally detached from the container, rib 25allows the closure to be used as a handle for lifting the container. Atthe same time, rib 25 still leaves edge 26 sufiiciently exposed topermit a person to force a finger beneath it, to grasp the bottom of theflange, and to draw it outwardly. In other words, rib 25 performs theimportant function of preventing the accidental removal of the closurewithout interfering with the removal of the closure when it is desired.

It has been found that this container and lid combination gives verysatisfactory results in the storage and shipment of food products. Theseal formed is liquid tight and the closure may be removed and replacedwithout impairment of the sealing function.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the invention and isnot intended in a limiting sense. It is contemplated that the inventionis capable of many other embodiments, including for example, some inwhich the shapes of the containers and closures are different from thosedescribed.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination of, an open mouth container having a curved mouthwhose top edge is defined by a vertical side wall structure havingadjacent inner and outer surfaces, and a flexible closure for said openmouth having a peripheral portion of its inner transverse surface incontact with said top edge and having a peripheral flange surroundingsaid top edge and extending downwardly adjacent said outer surface ofsaid wall structure, said closure having an upper circumferential riband a lower circumferential rib protruding from the inner surface ofsaid peripheral flange and contacting said outer surface of said wallstructure, a lower circumferential channel located between said upperrib and said lower rib, and an upper circumferential channel locatedbetween said inner transverse surface of said closure and said upperrib, said container having a circumferential rib protruding from saidouter surface of said wall structure and contacting the surfaces of saidlower circumferential channel of said flange to form an interlockingrelationship with said ribs of said flange, said closure having anannular rib projecting from said inner transverse surface adjacent saidinner surface of said wall structure and at lesser radius with its outerperiphery exposed to said inner surface of said wall structure of saidcontainer, said ribs and said lower circumferential channel presentingcam surfaces which facilitate vertical movement of said closure relativeto said container when said flange is moved outwardly away from saidwall structure, and said inner surface of said flange being spaced atits lower edge at a distance from said outer surface of said wallstructure to facilitate the grasping of said flange.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wall structure ofsaid container has an outwardly protruding portion spaced below andparallel to the bottom edge of said flange of said closure therebyfacilitating the lifting of said container at its top without theaccidental removal of said closure from said container.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rib protrudingfrom said container wall structure is of convex or rounded shape andsaid lower channel of said flange is defined by a vertical centersurface, a sloping upper surface located between said center surface andsaid upper rib, and a sloping lower surface located between said centersurface and said lower rib.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 3, wherein said sloping uppersurface meets said vertical center surface at an angle of approximately150 degrees and said sloping lower surface meets said vertical centersurface at an angle of approximately 135 degrees.

5. The combination of, a cylindrical open mouth container formed by anintegral wall structure of flexible plastic and having a circular mouthwhose top edge is defined by a vertical side wall structure havingadjacent inner and outer surfaces, and a closure formed from a singlepiece of flexible plastic, said closure having a peripheral portion ofits inner transverse surface in contact with said top edge and having aperipheral flange surrounding said top edge and extending downwardlyadjacent said outer surface of said wall structure, said closure havingan upper circumferential rib and a lower circumferential rib protrudingfrom the inner surface of said peripheral flange and contacting saidouter surface of said wall structure, a lower circumferential channellocated between said upper rib and said lower rib, and an uppercircumferential channel located between said inner transverse surface ofsaid closure and said upper rib, said container having a circumferentialrib protruding from said outer surface of said wall structure andcontacting the surfaces of said lower channel of said flange to form aninterlocking relationship with said ribs of said flange, said closurehaving an annular rib projecting from said inner transverse surfaceadjacent said inner surface of said wall structure and at lesser radiuswith its outer periphery exposed to said inner surface of said wallstructure of said container, said ribs and said lower circumferentialchannel presenting cam surfaces which facilitate vertical movement ofsaid closure relative to said container when said flange is movedoutwardly away from said wall structure, the lower edge of said flangebeing spaced with respect to saidouter surface of said wall structure tofacilitate the grasping of said flange, said wall structure having anoutwardly protruding portion spaced a short distance below and parallelto the bottom edge of said flange of said closure thereby givingrigidity to said container, facilitating the lifting of said containerat its top, and preventing the attendant accidental removal of saidclosure from said container.

6. The combination of, an open mouth container having a mouth whose edgeis defined by a side wall structure, and a flexible closure for saidopen mouth having a peripheral portion of its inner transverse surfaceextending above said top edge and having a peripheral flange surroundingsaid top edge and extending downwardly adjacent said outer surface ofsaid wall structure, said closure having an upper circumferential riband a lower circumferential rib protruding from the inner surface ofsaid peripheral flange and contacting said outer surface of said wallstructure, a lower circumferential channel located between said upperrib and said lower rib, and an upper circumferential channel locatedabove said upper rib, said container having a circumferential ribprotruding from said outer surface of said wall structure and contactingthe surfaces of said lower circumferential channel of said flange toform an interlocking relationship with said ribs of said flange.

7. The combination as claimed in claim 6, wherein said closure includesa portion protruding into said mouth of said container and presenting aledge surface along the inner surface of said mouth.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,778,525 1/1957 Lermer 220-2,984,382 5/1961 Florsheim 220-60 3,297,194 1/ 1967 Schaper 220-72FOREIGN PATENTS 866,652 4/ 1961 Great Britain.

GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

